“We reviewed all the safety data available after yesterday’s incident,” said Dickson, referring to the United Airlines flight that was forced to return to Denver International Airport on Saturday after suffering an engine failure shortly after takeoff.
“Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be increased for hollow fan blades that are exclusive to this engine model, used exclusively on Boeing 777 aircraft,” said Dickson.
Following the FAA’s announcement, United Airlines said in a statement that it is “immediately” removing 24 Boeing 777 aircraft that are powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engines “just in case.”
The 24 aircraft are part of the 52 777 of United’s fleet. The other 28 remain in storage. The change is voluntary and temporary, United said, and should only disrupt “a small number of customers”.
This developing story will be updated.